Tag Archives: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth

Newsweek: Pentagon Issues New Sweeping Order Amid Trump Admin Crackdown on DEI

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The Pentagon has issued its most sweeping directive yet in Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth‘s ongoing campaign to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) content from the U.S. military.

In a memo distributed Friday, military leaders and commands were ordered to review and pull all library books related to diversity, anti-racism, and gender issues by May 21. The directive characterizes such materials as “promoting divisive concepts and gender ideology,” which it says are incompatible with the Department of Defense’s core mission.

So racism and gender discrimination must be part of “the Department of Defense’s core mission”?

Pentagon issues new sweeping order amid Trump admin crackdown on DEI
Pete Hegseth ordered military leaders to review and pull all library books related to diversity, anti-racism and gender issues.

https://www.newsweek.com/hegseth-pentagon-dei-books-us-military-libraries-2070469

Latin Times: Trump Admin Laying Groundwork For Unilateral U.S. Military Action Against Cartels In Mexico: Report

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Throughout the campaign trail, President Donald Trump promised to crack down drug trafficking operations in Mexican territory, a plan that caused concern among experts and diplomats who warned would be illegal and dangerous. Now, an organization believes Washington is laying the groundwork for military actions anyway.

Some in the Trump administration are reportedly considering launching drone strikes on drug cartels in Mexico as part of an effort to combat the criminal gangs operating across the southern border.

In those discussions, the White House, Defense Department and intelligence officials were still at the early stages of sketching out potential plans. The administration has not made a final decision or reached a definitive agreement about countering cartels. Nonetheless, a unilateral covert action, without Mexico’s consent, had not been ruled out and could be an option of last resort, NBC News reported.

Trump Admin Laying Groundwork For Unilateral U.S. Military Action Against Cartels In Mexico: Report
The Trump admin is considering military action to curb down drug operations in Mexico, with or without the consent of Sheinbaum’s government, according to the Crisis Group

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/trump-admin-laying-groundwork-for-unilateral-u-s-military-action-against-cartels-in-mexico-report/ar-AA1E4leJ

Business Insider: Hegseth says the Pentagon is done ‘walking on eggshells.’ Women in uniform say it feels like a ‘slap in the face.’

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A rash of changes at the Pentagon has been sparking concern among some female service members. Now, a new memo set to potentially bring more change is causing additional alarm.

Since Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth took over the Pentagon, top female officers have been fired, some women’s service histories have been erased, women’s leadership programs have been squashed, and an advisory board focused on women in the military has been dismissed.

Last Friday, Hegseth signed a memo directing a review of equal opportunity programs and the processes for reporting and investigating harassment allegations. Hegseth said the moves, which he’s dubbed the “no more walking on eggshells” policy, would ensure faster and more impartial investigations.

“Too often at the Defense Department, there are complaints made for certain reasons that can’t be verified that have ended people’s careers,” he said in an accompanying video, calling some complaints “nonsense.”

But current and former female service members told Business Insider that they worry potential changes could reverse recent progress in addressing problems like hazing, sexual harassment, racism, and social media misconduct.

Hegseth says the Pentagon is done ‘walking on eggshells.’ Women in uniform say it feels like a ‘slap in the face.’
Secretary of Defense Hegseth signed a memo last Friday ordering the services to review their equal opportunity policies, leaving some women worried.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hegseth-says-the-pentagon-is-done-walking-on-eggshells-women-in-uniform-say-it-feels-like-a-slap-in-the-face/ar-AA1E5IHd

The Week US: A ‘meltdown’ at Hegseth’s Pentagon

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was fighting to hold on to his Cabinet position this week after reports that he used a second Signal chat—which included his wife, brother, and personal lawyer— last month to discuss detailed plans for a U.S. military strike on rebel camps in Yemen. The New York Times reported that Hegseth, a former Fox News host, had created chaos “unmatched in the recent history” of the Pentagon, and that after he fired three top aides last week and accused them of leaking to the press, his circle of advisers “is in shambles.” A fourth recently departed aide, former Pentagon spokesman John Ullyot, said in a Politico column that the Defense Department is “in a full-blown meltdown” under Hegseth’s leadership and that “it’s hard to see” him retaining his post. NPR reported that the Trump administration has begun a search for Hegseth’s replacement.

A ‘meltdown’ at Hegseth’s Pentagon
The Defense Secretary is fighting to keep his job amid leaked Signal chats and staff turmoil

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a-meltdown-at-hegseth-s-pentagon/ar-AA1DNG9m

CBS News: Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon

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Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News. 

The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures. 

Anyone for lipstick on a pig?

Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has not given any press briefings in the briefing room but has used the room as a backdrop for TV hits with Fox News.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hegseth-orders-makeup-studio-installed-pentagon

New York Times: Under Hegseth, Chaos Prevails at the Pentagon

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The defense secretary’s inner circle is in disarray, and distrust is growing among civil servants and senior military officials.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived at the Pentagon in January with almost no government experience and huge ambitions to remake the way the military was being run.

In just three months in office, Mr. Hegseth, a former Fox News host, has instead produced a run of chaos that is unmatched in the recent history of the Defense Department.

Mr. Hegseth’s inner circle of close advisers — military veterans who, like him, had little experience running large, complex organizations — is in a shambles. Three members of the team he brought with him into the Pentagon were accused last week of leaking unauthorized information and escorted from the building.

A fourth recently departed member of Mr. Hegseth’s team, John Ullyot, who had been his top spokesman, accused Mr. Hegseth of disloyalty and incompetence in an opinion essay in Politico on Sunday. “The building is in disarray under Hegseth’s leadership,” Mr. Ullyot wrote.

The discord, according to current and former defense officials, includes: screaming matches in his inner office among aides; a growing distrust of the thousands of military and civilian personnel who staff the building; and bureaucratic logjams that have slowed down progress on some of President Trump’s key priorities, such as an “Iron Dome for America” missile-defense shield. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal business.

Cry me a river! Even better, resign and self-deport to somewhere, anywhere!

https://archive.is/I0kbS

CNN: Concerns about Hegseth’s judgment come roaring back after group chat scandal

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“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Hegseth told reporters Tuesday.

By Wednesday, however, other defense officials were increasingly skeptical of that, especially after The Atlantic magazine revealed the details that Hegseth shared in the Signal chat about the pending strike on Houthi rebels in Yemen, including the timing and types of aircraft.

“It is safe to say that anybody in uniform would be court-martialed for this,” a defense official told CNN. “My most junior analysts know not to do this.”

…

But former national security and intelligence officials say it’s Hegseth who looks particularly bad given the level of detail he shared.

“The egregious actor here is Hegseth,” said one former senior intelligence official. “He’s in the bullseye now because he puts all this out on a Signal chat.”

Interviews with multiple current and former national security officials this week, including career military and civilian officials, reflect growing concerns about Hegseth’s leadership at the Pentagon.

…

Many of his orders are verbal and based on gut instinct rather than a deliberative, multi-layered process, people familiar with his methods said.

“He’s a TV personality,” one of the sources said. “[A general officer] makes a recommendation, and he’s like, ‘Yeah, yeah, go do it.’ [Former Defense Secretary] Lloyd Austin would never be like, ‘Yeah, yeah, go do it.’ 

…

Several DoD officials told CNN that Hegseth seems more preoccupied with appearances than with substance—wanting to appear more “lethal” than his predecessor and pulling resources from elsewhere in DoD to achieve that image.

….

“Of all the things they could be doing, the places they’re putting their focuses on first are really things that just don’t matter … This was literally a waste of our time,” a defense official told CNN of the content purge. “This does absolutely nothing to make us stronger, more lethal, better prepared.”

And Hegseth is outranked and outclassed by his predecessors:

Hegseth ultimately rose to the rank of Major before leaving the National Guard in 2021, and has the least experience of any Senate-confirmed defense secretary in recent history.

His immediate predecessor Austin, a four-star general, served for 41 years and commanded US Central Command; former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper served as the Secretary of the Army before being confirmed as SecDef; and former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, also a 40-year veteran and four-star general, commanded US Central Command as well before being confirmed as Trump’s first secretary of defense.

Concerns about Hegseth’s judgment come roaring back after group chat scandal

Concerns about Hegseth’s judgment come roaring back after group chat scandal

New York Times: Inside Pete Hegseth’s Rocky First Months at the Pentagon

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The disclosure of battle plans on a chat app created a new predicament for the defense secretary.

There’s nothing that can’t be cured by few stiff drinks:

Even before he disclosed secret battle plans for Yemen in a group chat, information that could have endangered American fighter pilots, it had been a rocky two months for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Mr. Hegseth, a former National Guard infantryman and Fox News weekend host, started his job at the Pentagon determined to out-Trump President Trump, Defense Department officials and aides said.

The president is skeptical about the value of NATO and European alliances, so the Pentagon under Mr. Hegseth considered plans in which the United States would give up its command role overseeing NATO troops. After Mr. Trump issued executive orders targeting transgender people, Mr. Hegseth ordered a ban on transgender troops.

Mr. Trump has embraced Elon Musk, the billionaire chief executive of SpaceX and Tesla. The Pentagon planned a sensitive briefing to give Mr. Musk a firsthand look at how the military would fight a war with China, a potentially valuable step for any businessman with interests there.

Inside Pete Hegseth’s Rocky First Months at the Pentagon – The New York Times

Washington Post: Trump defends national security adviser Waltz in Signal group chat blunder

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Later, during a White House meeting with U.S. ambassadors, Trump said Waltz had been unfairly attacked and suggested that the problem was an issue with technology, not a lapse in judgment from a key deputy. “I don’t think he should apologize. I think he’s doing his best,” Trump said. “It’s equipment and technology that’s not perfect. And, probably he won’t be using it again. At least not in the very near future.”

Nonsense!

Our government — especially our military — has secure communications facilities and procedures. Trump’s wannabes are just too stupid / too ignorant / to lazy to use them.

Trump defends national security adviser Waltz in Signal group chat blunder

Washington Post: Trump’s shocking military plan leak epitomizes a sloppy operation

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The second Trump administration has clearly made a decision to move fast and break things. Largely gone are the establishment Republican figures and steady hands that sometimes resisted President Donald Trump during his first term. In their place are a bunch of people with less subject-matter and governmental experience but with the zeal of MAGA true believers, eager to implement Trump’s complete governmental overhaul and to bust through the traditional guardrails in the process.

The result is a very — and increasingly — sloppy first two months, by any objective measure.

The editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, was added to the string of messages on Signal, an open-source encrypted messaging service. The group included the names of prominent administration figures, such as national security adviser Michael Waltz, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Vice President JD Vance, all strategizing about the impending attacks.

The messages were sent before the strikes began last weekend and previewed almost precisely when they ultimately took place.

Trump’s shocking military plan leak epitomizes a sloppy operation